Shifting from R to D very harsh

Hi there,
shifting from R to D feels like a hard hit, is this normal?
Shouldnt this go much more smoothly?
Hava a 1996 Cherokee XJ 4.0 with AW-4 Automatic.

http://youtu.be/vbev0H8r6E0

Do i have a problem with transmission or with the axle?

Thank you very much!

McDrive said:

Hi there,
shifting from R to D feels like a hard hit, is this normal?
Shouldnt this go much more smoothly?

Click to expand...

Welcome to a worn rear axle and drivetrain. Make sure the u-joints have no play and the yoke hardware is tight at both ends of the driveshaft. Take at look at the condition of the motor and trans mounts too.
As long as the axle doesn't make noise when driving and the fluid, when changed, isn't full of metal shavings, I would go ahead and drive it.
I have had cars with that much play go for over 100,000 miles.

Thanks for your answer, i will check all around again.

Replace tranny mount, motor mounts if they are bad,
And remove rear DS and check u joints off the rig and replace . I bet that's it .

yep, my trans mount is bad, and with the locker in the rear end it goes bang when i switch from R to D. it's just the torque from the engine loading up the drivetrain. no cause for alarm you just have something that is worn out.